Blind Spot
Blind Spot is the fifth episode of Season 1 of ''Homeland''. It aired on October 30, 2011. Synopsis The lone survivor of the al-Qaeda group that held Brody for eight years is captured. Saul and Carrie are to interrogate him, with Brody's help. Episode guide Carrie visits her father, Frank Mathison, with the intent of pilfering some of his pills (he has the same condition as Carrie). She manages to get some, but her visit is cut short when she gets a call telling her that the CIA has Afsal Hamid in custody, who was the lone survivor of the raid where Brody was rescued in Iraq. Meanwhile, Saul is at the airport, picking up his wife Mira as she returns from India. Saul similarly gets a call about the captured terrorist and has to leave immediately, not even able to take Mira home. Carrie and Saul arrive for an interrogation of Hamid. Sgt. Brody has also been summoned. Brody recognizes Hamid as his guard when he was in captivity. Flashbacks are shown of Hamid severely beating Brody and then urinating on him. Saul conducts the interrogation alone in the room with Hamid, while Brody and Carrie watch on camera and are able to talk to Saul via an earpiece. As the interrogation progresses, Brody feeds Saul details of his captivity, so that Saul appears all-knowing. Saul then offers to protect Hamid's family from Abu Nazir, if he's willing to talk. Hamid is then left in the interrogation room with the lights blinking, the air conditioning on full, and intermittent blasts of loud heavy metal music piped in. After many hours of this treatment, Hamid is seemingly ready to cooperate. He says he doesn't know much, but gives up an e-mail address which he once passed along a message to. The address is eventually traced back to the university where the previously investigated Raqim Faisel is working. A short time later, Raqim's home address is ascertained. Brody meets with Estes and makes a plea to have a face-to-face with Hamid. He argues that he's earned the right to confront his torturer, and that he needs to put that chapter of his life behind him. Estes knows such a thing shouldn't be permitted but, ever the careerist, he is persuaded. With guards present in the room, Brody sits across a table from Hamid who is having a meal. After some taunting by Brody, Hamid spits in his face. Brody grabs Hamid out of his chair and wrestles him to the floor. The altercation is quickly broken up. Brody goes home to find that he missed Chris' karate match, but Mike was able to give Chris a ride. After a tense confrontation with Mike, Brody later goes into Chris' room to find him praying. Chris says that for eight years, he and the family prayed for Brody to still be alive. Now, they pray that he's going to be okay. Saul calls Carrie to inform her that Hamid is dead. Somehow he obtained a fragment of a razor blade and slashed his own wrist. Carrie, along with a team of agents, raid Raqim and Aileen's house but it's now empty. Carrie initially suspects a tip-off from within the CIA, especially with Hamid also mysteriously ending up dead. Saul is home with Mira, who is at the end of her rope. She says she is tired of her life revolving around Saul and his all-consuming work. As this conversation is going on, Carrie shows up. She's learned of Brody's meeting with Hamid and has a tape of the camera footage with her. She is furious that Brody was allowed to have contact with Hamid, and points out that in the melee, Brody pulled Hamid into the blind spot of the camera, giving him ample opportunity to pass Hamid the blade. Saul is also incensed that Brody was permitted to meet with Hamid, but refuses to take Carrie's suspicions up the chain of command, as there is still no hard evidence. Carrie says she will take it up with Estes, whether Saul approves or not. Saul counters that if she does so, she'll be fired. Carrie storms out after a nasty argument. Carrie goes to Langley and cleans out her office. She then shows up at her sister Maggie's house, now an emotional wreck. Through tears, she tells Maggie "I think I just quit my job". She complains about now having nobody's support, not even Saul's. The episode ends with Carrie unable to sleep and contemplating her future. Cast Main Cast * Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison * Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody * Morena Baccarin as Jessica Brody * David Harewood as David Estes * Diego Klattenhoff as Mike Faber * Jackson Pace as Chris Brody * Morgan Saylor as Dana Brody * Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson Guest Starring *James Rebhorn as Frank Mathison *Waleed Zuaiter as Afsal Hamid *Sarita Choudhury as Mira Berenson *Amy Hargreaves as Maggie Mathison *Hrach Titizian as Danny Galvez Co-Starring *Jason Hatfield as Pittman *Renee St. Gelais as Ruby Dunn *Rachel St. Gelais as Rosie Dunn *Rebecca Koon as Faisel's Assistant *Justin Boyd as UPS Agent Background information Ratings The original broadcast had 1.28 million viewers, which was an increase of 180,000 viewers over the previous episode. [1] Reviews Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave "Blind Spot" a grade of A, and declared "Homeland’s not just the best new show of the season; it’s the best show currently airing on TV". Jesse Carp of Cinema Blend thought the interrogation scene was "one of the most memorable in an already unforgettable series". External links es:Blind Spot Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Episodes Category:Season 1